CHAPTER 12
Nina woke slowly, pushing through a heavy, sticky haze.
Her head throbbed, her body felt filled with lead, and her movements were sluggish, as if she were underwater.
She blinked, struggling to focus. The light was too bright, the walls too white.
Anxiety stirred in her chest and spread through her body with an unpleasant chill.
She looked around. A hospital room. No one nearby.
Just a bed, a nightstand, and a small table.
What the hell had happened? Why was she in a hospital? Hadn’t she… fallen asleep in her own bed at home?
She sat up abruptly, feeling weakness in her legs but barely noticing it, because realization slammed into her chest with full force.
This wasn’t a regular hospital. It was a psychiatric clinic.
Her breath hitched. One single thought thundered through her head — How? How had she ended up here? How had Frank dared to do this to her?
Fear crashed over her, panic surged like an avalanche, tightening around her throat with an iron grip. Nina rushed to the door and grabbed the handle. Locked. Damn it. She yanked it again, trying to force it open — useless. It wouldn’t budge.
She tried to steady her breathing. How had Frank sunk to this? And then — what had she expected? He’d already shown her exactly who he was, so why was she surprised now?
Somewhere deep inside, a fragile hope still flickered — that he had sent her here because he genuinely thought she was on the verge of another breakdown.
But he knew there hadn’t been a single real one in five years.
Anxiety, melancholy, nightmares, occasional short depressive episodes — yes.
But nothing severe. Not once. So why was she locked in here now?
In a normal hospital, they didn’t lock you in like this.
Nina started pounding on the door — softly at first, then harder, with fists and open palms, her teeth clenched from rage and terror.
“Hey! Let me out!”
Silence. She hit the door again, harder now, pain spreading through her hands. Was this really his plan — to lock her up in a psych ward while he enjoyed life with Vivian in their house?
No. Someone would start looking for her. Or would they? Would anyone even notice she was missing?
The thought made her shudder.
“Somebody! Let me out right now!” Her voice cracked, hysteria rising at the idea that she might be trapped here for a long time.
She kept pounding until her voice turned into a hoarse rasp. Panic swallowed her whole. She couldn’t breathe. She had to get out of here. Otherwise, Frank would win.
She didn’t know how much time had passed. It felt like forever. Her throat burned raw from screaming, her fists throbbed from striking the door, but she couldn’t stop. Fear gnawed at her from the inside, terror crushed her chest, stealing her breath. She collapsed back onto the bed, exhausted.
And when the door finally opened, she whirled toward the door, expecting to see Frank.
Instead, a man in a white coat stepped into the room.
“Mrs. Osborne, please calm down.”
His voice was even, controlled, but there was steel in his eyes.
“If you continue this behavior, I’ll have to take measures.”
Measures?
Nina’s hands clenched into fists as she rose from the bed and took a sharp step toward him.
“You have no right to keep me here!”
The doctor sighed calmly and looked at her as if she were a spoiled child.
“You’re here under medical authorization, Mrs. Osborne.”
“You’re working with my husband!” she almost growled, fury roaring in her chest. “You have no right to hold me here against my will! I’ll sue you!”
The doctor slowly shook his head and took another step closer.
“A lawsuit? Mrs. Osborne, you have a full medical history,” his voice was sickeningly gentle.
Nina froze.
“What medical history?!”
She scanned him with her eyes. Of course he was in on it with Frank. Of course. Damn it — she didn’t even have her phone. No connection. How was she supposed to get out of here?
“You were treated several years ago.”
“I saw a therapist a few times. That’s not the same thing!”
“You had severe nervous breakdowns, depression, panic attacks. You were even prescribed medication, and it helped you. Isn’t that true?”
She couldn’t breathe. He was trying to paint her as insane.
“You were also treated in several clinics. Anonymously. Your husband only wants what’s best for you, Mrs. Osborne.”
Best?
Frank had locked her up in a psych ward, and this man was talking about her best interest?
“You’ll undergo a course of treatment. A week, maybe two at most. IV therapy, medication—and then you’ll be discharged. If, of course, your condition improves and you behave appropriately,” he spoke to her like she was a child.
Nina wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe this was real. That in a week she’d walk out of here, go home, and erase this nightmare. That Frank hadn’t decided to lock her away forever. But something inside her wouldn’t settle.
Something was wrong.
She felt it in every cell of her body. This wasn’t just treatment.
It was a trap.
A full week inside a cage of white walls. In total isolation. A week — like in a fog.
She had enough time to think. To analyze everything that had happened. Her life. Her marriage. Everything. Hatred boiled inside her, tearing her apart. Helplessness was eating her alive.
She couldn’t rest. Her thoughts ripped her apart from the inside, but she was powerless to change anything.
She thought Frank would keep her there forever. That he’d break his word, that a week would turn into a month, into a year, into a lifetime.
But he released her. Just as promised.
Nina walked out through the gates, her heart pounding in her chest, her fingers icy with nervous tension.
He was already waiting.
A black car was parked at the entrance. Frank stood beside it, hands in his pockets, his face nothing but cold, arrogant indifference.
Nina tensed when she walked toward him. She expected another blow. Her fists clenched painfully as she struggled to control herself.
She wanted to throw herself at him. Tear him apart for what he’d done to her.
Instead, she got into the car in silence.
The moment the car pulled away, something inside her exploded. She couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“Have you completely lost your mind?!” rage crackled in her voice, something wild tearing through her chest.
Frank drove calmly, not looking at her even once. That only pushed her closer to the edge.
“How could you lock me in a psych ward? Do you even understand what you did?!”
Her anger boiled over, her hands clenching into fists.
“You didn’t even let me call my daughter! She must’ve been worried!”
Frank gave a faint, crooked smile but said nothing.
Something inside her finally snapped. She grabbed his sleeve, trying to force him to look at her.
“Answer me, damn it!”
And then he suddenly grabbed her wrist. Strong fingers clamped around her arm like steel. Pain shot up her arm. She flinched but didn’t look away. There was icy cruelty in his eyes.
“If you don’t want to end up back there, lower your voice.”
Nina froze. Everything inside her turned to ice.
It was a threat.
A real one.
He could do it. He could lock her up again. Make her disappear if he wanted.
And no one would come to save her.
Real fear seeped into her bones, tearing her apart from the inside. All this time she’d been living beside a dangerous man, trusting him with her life, never realizing who he truly was.
Now Frank no longer needed to pretend and that terrified her more than anything.
Her fingers loosened on their own. She looked away.
She didn’t say another word until they reached home.